Never for Nothing - August 2006

ALBUM OF THE MONTH

PAUL A DAVIES : Strange Tale.  

For secular guitar aficionados, there’s the likes of Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and a host of other top notch players worthy of praise. In Christian circles, we have Phil Keaggy and…….er…well, no-one else sprang to mind. Enter, Paul A Davies, a man who freely admits to being attracted to the unknown and the often unknowable. His latest CD kicks off with an intro that sounds like some Hollywood fanfare, called “1.98 x 1014”. I’m not sure that I liked  the title track but I did find myself warming to “Nephelokokkygia”, possibly the nearest you could get to a Satriani track without it being played by the man himself. Layers of guitar sounds smoothly melt together, to give a delicious concoction. “Pink Cottage” was written almost entirely on the Chapman stik, and it sees Paul venture into an ambient jazz sound. For those who like the more acoustic sound, “Lil Lil” has a chugging rhythm to accompany the dance loops. It puzzled me for a while, and then came to me in an instant. The style of “Something to Hold Dear” and “In My Dreams” reminded me more of Bill Nelson (Be-Bop Deluxe) in his ‘Red Noise’ era. The vocals on the former track also sounded fresh. “Down the Line” tells of life not working out the way you thought it would, this time with Paul using vocal FX well. “Teardrops in the Rain” is a catchy but rather short number, while “The Buzzing of Bees” conjured up images of ancient Egypt and a time long gone. Paul says that making this album meant that he could “start with a blank canvas and just do what sounded right” in his head. It sounds right to me too. 8/10.  Geoff Howlett.

PAUL A. DAVIES : Postcards from Aunt Cordelia v.1.1

Paul is a very accomplished guitarist who you may have seen with Ascent, Eve & the Garden, Enygmartyr, Helen Turner or even playing solo. If so, then you’ll know how talented he is. The question when approaching a solo CD by a talented guitarist is: Vai or Satriani? Clapton or Malmsteen? In other words, will it be impressive playing or impressive music or (hopefully) both. I’m pleased to be able to report that this CD veers very definitely towards the latter territory. I’d seen some of these tracks performed live and been impressed – on CD they’re even better. There’s the soaring Gilmore-esque moments, there’s the slightly-further-back-in-the-mix vocals that you’d expect from someone who expresses himself better through a guitar than through vocals, but it’s always in context and always highly listenable. There’s also some Lemon Jelly-style “vocal sample and riff” stuff which I rather liked. Overall, a very enjoyable album. Standout tracks: Just this side of joy, Dignity and Contact. 8/10. Paul Ganney.